1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a television-watchable refrigerator system and a method for operating the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a television-watchable refrigerator system and a method for operating the same, wherein a Web pad is detachably mounted on the outer surface of a refrigerator and a television (TV) module or TV antenna module is provided to receive a television signal and wirelessly transmit the received television signal to the Web pad. The present invention thus eliminates a need for providing wiring for a wired connection of the refrigerator with television antenna terminal and overcoming limitations in installation locations of the refrigerator resulting from the need for a wired connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, refrigerators are home appliances that have inner compartments for storage of food, which are insulated from the external environment to maintain the stored food at a low temperature and preserve it from spoilage and decay so as to keep it in a fresh state for a long time.
Recently, a refrigerator has been developed which has a display unit, a key input unit, a processor for signal processing, etc. to perform a general computer function in a kitchen, in addition to the above-mentioned basic refrigeration function. In particular, such a refrigerator is provided with Internet access devices, such as a local area network (LAN) card and a cable modem, to additionally perform a function of gaining access to an external Internet network. As a result, a user can not only upload/download data to/from a Web page connected over the Internet network, but can also search the connected Web page for desired data.
In the case where a home network is constructed in a building and a plurality of home appliances are connected to the home network, the above-described refrigerator can be used as a home server for centrally controlling the plurality of home appliances. The reason that the refrigerator is used as a home server is that the refrigerator is generally always in its driven or “ON” state, so it is capable of monitoring, in real time, variations in the states of the home appliances connected to the home network.
To this end, the above refrigerator includes, as shown in FIG. 1, display 20, such as a plasma display panel (PDP) or liquid crystal display (LCD), mounted on the outer front surface of the refrigerator R for displaying the state of the refrigerator R externally and performing an input/output operation in a touch pad manner to enable the user to input commands. As a result, the user can confirm the internal conditions of the refrigerator R and data transmitted and received to/from the connected Web page through the display means 20.
In addition, provided that the refrigerator R is equipped with a TV reception card, it will be able to output a television picture (i.e. a video image) through the display 20, thereby enabling the user to watch television in the kitchen.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional television-watchable refrigerator R further includes a television reception control unit 10 mounted on the top surface of the refrigerator R for controlling the reception of a television signal and of the television watching. The display 20 is fixedly mounted on the outer surface of the refrigerator R and internally connected with the television reception control unit 10 in a wired manner to receive and display a television signal.
The television reception control unit 10 is connected with a television antenna terminal 4, which is typically installed on a wall in the building, via a cable, to receive a television signal from the television antenna terminal 4, as shown in FIG. 1.
The television reception control unit 10 is operated in the following manner to display a television signal through the conventional television-watchable refrigerator R. First, the user inputs a desired channel and television control command through a key input unit (not shown) mounted on the outer surface of the refrigerator R. Then, the television reception control unit 10 receives a television signal of the desired channel from the television antenna terminal 4 in response to the television control command. Thereafter, the television reception control unit 10 separates the received television signal into an audio signal and a video signal and transfers the separated audio and video signals to the display 20 to output them externally.
In the above-mentioned conventional television-watchable refrigerator R, the television reception control unit 10 is mounted integrally with the refrigerator R and connected via the cable with the television antenna terminal 4 which sends a television signal to the control unit 10. For this reason, the refrigerator R must be positioned in the vicinity of the television antenna terminal 4.
If that the refrigerator R is located far away from the television antenna terminal 4, the cable will have to be extended to the place where the refrigerator R is installed, so it (the cable) will be exposed externally. This provides an aesthetically unappealing sight, resulting in a limitation in places suitable for installation of the refrigerator R.
Moreover, in an old house or apartment, the television antenna terminal 4 may be limitedly installed in a parlor or living room. In this case, the user cannot use the television watching function in the kitchen where the refrigerator is located, thereby reducing its utility.